1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to articles worn by a user, and more particularly, to gloves and watches with removable elements, such as bands or patches for use therewith.
2. Background Art
Many people develop painful ailments due to their age, a sports-injury, or execution of repetitive motions. These ailments inhibit their ability to participate in sports and perform various other motions during normal daily activities. These ailments include such problems as "golfer's or tennis elbow," carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis in various joints and muscles and tendon problems. To reduce the effects of such ailments, many athletes wear devices, such as copper bracelets, magnetic bracelets, or cloth wraps that contain magnetic or far infra-red radiation amplifying minerals. These devices are often ill fitting and cumbersome so that athletes and other users find them distracting or inhibiting when worn during the performance of certain motions.
One solution to this problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,046 to Lopez et al. which discloses a therapeutic glove with magnets embedded therein and disposed at various locations within the glove such as the fingers, palm and back of the hand. These gloves would be difficult to wear while attempting to grip a tool or sports implement, since the magnets therein would interfere with the user's ability to grip and may prevent a snug fit such as that desired in many sports' gloves.
Therefore, a need exists for a compact, and secure way to provide the benefits associated with such materials without interfering with the user's performance.
Moreover, people who spend significant amounts of time outdoors can be exposed to a large range of temperatures. In such conditions, they prefer to maintain a reasonable range of hand temperatures to control precisely their dexterity and their grip on tools or sports implements. Many people now carry and use different types of gloves, light weight ones for warmer days and more bulky, lined gloves for colder days. This requires investing in two types of gloves and carrying two types of gloves on days when large temperature swings are expected. Therefore, a need also exists for gloves or other articles that can be used in a large range of temperatures to help maintain adequate hand temperature.